Addicted to Nicorette

In the 2000 movie Bounce, Gwyneth Paltrow's character, Abby, explains that she really isn't a smoker at heart, but has started puffing on cigarettes to help her get off the nicotine gum to which she's become addicted. The line invariably gets a laugh. But for people who feel that they really have become hooked on nicotine gum, Abby's quirky observation may hit too close to home.

In fact, 1.5-2 million Americans try the nicotine-laced gum each year (it was originally introduced in the U.S. in 1984). And while many, thanks to the gum, have successfully kicked the tobacco habit, some seem to have weaned themselves from one nicotine habit only to pick up a new (albeit less risky) one.

Most users of nicotine gum -- now sold over-the-counter under the Nicorette brand as well as several generic names -- see it as a short-term measure. GlaxoSmithKline, marketers of Nicorette, advises people to "stop using the nicotine gum at the end of 12 weeks," and to talk to a doctor if you "still feel the need" to use it. But that guideline hasn't kept some people from chomping on it for many months and even years. In an addiction forum on the Internet, one gum user posted a familiar message describing her 10-year-long habit of chewing between 9 and 11 pieces of Nicorette per day, and asking for "any suggestions as to how to get off the gum."